Santa

As disco became an important part of the international music business, European producers began working in exotic flavors into the disco beat to create unique and competitive recordings. A good example of this trend is Santa Esmeralda, a Spanish-themed studio group that wove elements of flamenco, salsa, and other Latin musical styles into its Euro-disco sound. Although the group's sound was about as genuinely Spanish as Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass (Santa Esmeralda was the brainchild of French record producers), the result was a crossover success that spawned several club-favorite albums and a notable pop hit in the band's Latinized cover of "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood".

As disco became an important part of the international music business, European producers began working in exotic flavors into the disco beat to create unique and competitive recordings. A good example of this trend is Santa Esmeralda, a Spanish-themed studio group that wove elements of flamenco, salsa, and other Latin musical styles into its Euro-disco sound…

Have you been a bad boy or girl this year? Worried that Santa's going to bring you a bag of coal? Maybe he'll bring you some dookie instead. Green Day's patented pop-punk is as timeless as any classic Christmas carol. These all-new holiday versions prove it. Instead of fast licks of guitar solos, you will be getting the jingle of bells and horns. From now on, you'll be singing about the Green Days of Christmas…

The CD, unreleased as always, is dedicated to three rare masterpieces by the Taranto composer, of the "Neapolitan school", Giovanni Paisiello and his Concerti n. 6, 7 and 8 for piano and orchestra. They are interpreted by the great Catania pianist Francesco Nicolosi (2nd prize in Geneva, 1980, first not awarded) and the refined Orchestra of the Accademia di Santa Sofia.

On stage they’re usually rivals, but in real life Jonas Kaufmann and Ludovic Tézier share a close friendship. After many live performances together these two extraordinary artists have recorded their first duet album: “Insieme”, meaning “together” in Italian, to be released on Sony Classical. Accompanied by the Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia under Antonio Pappano, they present duets they’ve sung together on stage, plus works specially chosen for the album.

Antonio Pappano conducts Rome’s Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in two works from the earlier phase of Richard Strauss’s career: a comparative rarity, the mercurial, virtuosic Burleske for piano and orchestra, with Bertrand Chamayou as soloist, and the epic autobiographical tone poem Ein Heldenleben, one of the composer’s orchestral masterpieces. “Strauss always thought dramaturgically,” says Pappano. “Recording this music in Italy, the link has to be through opera, with all its theatricality, temperament, contrast and colour …You need a certain charisma in the sound, which these players achieve.”

Joyce DiDonato becomes more interesting and more of a complete artist with each performance and recording. Even though we are living in a time of great coloratura mezzos (Bartoli, Genaux), DiDonato still stands out. A video of her Dejanira in Handel's Hercules a few years ago alerted us to the fact that she wasn't just another pretty Rosina and Cenerentola; indeed, she had fine dramatic chops as well. Well, while she remains the Rosina and Cenerentola of choice, with this CD she seems poised to enter the dramatic-Rossini-role sweepstakes as well, heretofore the property of Gencer, Caballé, Sutherland, and in one case, Callas.

This long awaited 4th CD is the latest release from the 15 piece powerhouse horn/vocal band that has become the band, other bands go to for inspiration. The CD includes 14 new original songs combining a stew of Funk, Jazz, Soul, Rock and Latin flavors.